crowell



Patented Mar. 28, |899.

L. C. CROWELL.

BED ND CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINE.

(Application iled June 8, 1897.)

4 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

1HE Ncnms PETERS co.. PH'oYmIjTHo., WASHINGTON, n. c.

No. 622,!25. Patented Mar. 28, |899. L. C. CRUWELL.

BED AND CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 8, 1897.)

(No Maciel.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

w: Noms Ps1-:Rs no.. Naro-uwe., wAsmNaroN. qq2.

Patented Mar. 28, |899.

No. 622,I25.

L. D. CBDWELL.

BED AND CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINE.

(Appliction' led June 8, 1897.)

4 Sheets--Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

wg Nonni: mns co.. num'oumo., wAsmNaTomn c.

Patented Mar. 28, |899.

L. C. CRWELL.

BED AND CYLINDER PRINTING MACHINE.

(Application led June 8, 1897.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

ma Nonms PErEns co., PHoYo-Lluo., WASHINGTON, Dy c.

Unirse STATES PATENT Ormea.

LUTHER C. CROWELL, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ROBERT HOE, THEODOREH. MEAD, AND CHARLES W. CARPENTER, OF SAME PLACE.

BED-AND-CYLINDER PRINTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 622,125, dated March281, 1899.

Application tiled June 8, 1897. Serial No. 639,816. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER C. CROWELL, a citizen of the United-States,residing at New York, (Brooklym) county of Kings, and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bed-and-CylinderPrinting-Presses, fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to bed-and-cylinder printing-presses of thoseclasses in which a reciprocating bed is used in combination with one ormore continuously-rotating cylinders. There are many different classesof such presses employing one or more impressioncylinders and forprinting a single side of one or more sheets or for perfecting and inwhich the cylinder or cylinders make one or more rotations during acomplete reciprocation of the bed; but in all such presses it isrequisite that the cylinder shall rotate in contact with the bed andmove in exact synchronism therewith during the printing Operation orperiod of impreasion and shall rotate with its surface out of contactwith the bed during another part of the movement of the cylinder, so asto allow'the return of the bed Without printing contact between the bedand cylinder. This contact of the cylinder with the bed during one partof its movement and lack of contact during another part is usuallyobtained by raising and lowering the cylinder out of and into printingcontact with the bed; but it may be obtained otherwise, as by thecylinder having a depressed part that allows the bed to return wit-houtprinting contact.

Many different means have been used for reciprocating the bed with theobject of attaining high speed without the shock and loss of powerresulting from sudden stoppage and reversal of the bed. A most simpleandefficient construction for this purpose is secured by driving the bedwith a movement produced by or corresponding to that of a crank, so thatthespeed of the bed constantly varies, being at its maximum in themiddle of the stroke of the bed and during the period ofthe point ofreversal as the crank is passing the dead-center and then move at arapidlyaccelerating speed until the maximum speed is nearly reached,thenat a slowly-acceleratin g speed to the middle of the stroke and aslowlydecreasing speed after passing that point, and then at a morerapidly-decreasing speed to the stop at the point of reversal, thisoperation then being repeated with the crank on the opposite side of thecenter and the bed moving in the opposite direction. As the speed ofmovement of the bed in such construction will constantly change,although much less rapidly at some parts of its movement than at others,it is obviouslyimportant that the speed of the impression-cylinderduring the printing operation or period of impression shall vary also,as it must be eX- aetly synchronous with that of the bed in order tosecure perfect impressions and the accurate registry of the sheets. Ifthe heavy cylinder be driven throughout at a variable speedcorresponding to that of the bed, there is great loss of power andstrain upon the press resulting from the change of speed of the cylinderfrom a very slow to a very rapid movement, so that such presses, if goodprinting results are secured, must be run ata comparatively low rate ofspeed and with great waste of power.

The object of.the present invention is to secure in such acrank-movement construction perfect synchronism of movement of the bedand cylinder during the printing operation Without undue shock or strainupon the press or the loss of power resulting from large variation inthe speed of the cylinder Yduring different parts of its movement. Thisresult is secured by actuating the cylinder by the bed duringsubstantially the middle part or printing movement of the bed andactuating the cylinder during the rest of its movement by a separatedriving mechanism. which is out of operation during the time that thebed drives the cylinder. This sepa-rate driving mechanism for thecylinder is preferably a uniform-speed driving mechanism, so that thecylinder is driven at a uniform speed during the time that it is notdriven by the bed, which uniform-speed is the speed at which the bedcommences and ceases to drive the IOC a caaia cylinder, so that there isno shock as the change in driving of the cylinder is made. The bedpreferably commences and ceases to drivethe cylinder as nearly aspossible at the beginning and end of the printing operation consistentlywith securing perfect synchronism of movement throughout the entireperiod of impression, so that the printing operation occurs during thatpart of the crank movement in which the speed of the bed varies butslightly, which extends for a considerable distance on each side of itshighestspeed position, and the cylinder is out of contact with the bedand driven by the separate driving mechanism during that part of thecrank movement in which the speed of the bed varies largely-that is,before and after the reversal at opposite ends of its movement. Thispermits the cylinder to be driven at a uniform rate of speedapproximating the printing speed of the bed, the printing operationoccurring, as has been before said, at the time when the speed of thecylinder is varied but slightly, at which time it is driven by the bed.It is to be understood that while the separate constant-speed drivingmechanism begins to drive the bed as nearly as possible at the end ofthe printing operation and ceases to drive it as nearly as possible atsubstantially the beginning of the printing operation the exact pointsat which the constantspeed mechanism begins and ceases driving may notnecessarily coincide with the exact points at which the printing beginsand ends. The constant-speed driving mechanism must necessarily have aspeed which is greater than the lowest speed of the bed produced by thecrank mechanism by which it is driven and less than its greatest speed.There will be two points, therefore, in the printing stroke of the bedin whichv the two speeds coincide, and it is at these points that it isdesirable to transfer the cylinder from one driving mechanism to theother. Vherever it is practicable these points will be made tocorrespond substantiallywith the beginning and ending of the printingoperation; but constructions in which the cylinder is transferred fromone driving mechanism to the other at points which do not coincide withthe beginning and ending of the printing operation are within thisinvention, provided they employ a cylinder which rotates continuously inthe same direction, the cylinder being driven part of the time byvariable-speed mechanism and part of the time by constantspeed mechanismwhich has a speed which is greater than the lowest speed of the bedunder the influence of the variable-speed mechanism and less than itsgreatest speed, the transfer from one driving mechanism to another beingmade at approximately the times when the two speeds coincide, thetransfer being accomplished through devices which are made effective bythe raising and lowering mechanism. IVhile, however, itis preferablethat the cylinder shall be driven by the separate driving mechanism at auniform speed when not driven by the bed, and such a construction formsa part of the invention, as claimed, the invention, broadly considered,is not limited to such a movement, but includes also features ofconstruction and combinations of parts in constructions in which thecylinder is not thus driven.

The invention is applicable generally to bedand-cylinderprinting-presses of all classes employing a continuously-rotatingcylinder; but for simplicity-of illustration and description it will beshown and described as applied in connection with what is known as atworevolution single-cylinder press,in which the cylinder makes onerotation and prints during the movement of the bed in one direction andmakes another rotation without printing during the return of the bed.From thisillustration and description the application of the inventionto printing-presses of other classes will be readily understood.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification andshowing the invention applied in its preferred form to a two-revolutionsingle-cylinder press, Figure l is a diagrammatic side elevation of thepress. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 of Fig. 1 with the cylinderpartly broken away to show the driving-pinion. Figs. 3, 4, 5, and G arediagrammatic views similar to Fi g.l, showing the parts of the press indifferent positions during a complete movement of the bed in onedirection.

Referring to said drawings, A is the frame of the press; B, thereciprocating type-bed; C, the impression-cylinder; D, the inkingmechanism; E, the traveling gear, engaging the rack 10 on the bed andthe stationary rack 11 onthe frame; F,- the crank, driving travelinggear E through connecting-rod l2, and G the crank-shaft,driven from themain driving-shaft S by pinion 13 and gear li, the bed B,carrying therack l5, meshing with gear 16 on the end ot' the cylinder C for drivingthe cylinder by the bed. In the construction shown the cylinder israised and lowered to move itout of and into printing contact with thebed, and this movement may be obtained by any common or suitable means.As shown the crank-shaft G carries a cam-disk Il, in which runs a bowlon a lever 17, connected by a link 1S to a crankHarm on a rock-shaft 50,having the usual toggle-joints 19 at opposite ends, one arm of thetoggle-joints being onthe shaft and the oiheron the press-frame, theshaft 50 being mounted in the verticallysliding cylinder-frame I,inwhich the cylinder is mounted. The straightening of the togglejoints bythe rocking of shaft 5() lowers the frame and cylinder for printingcont-act of the cylinder and bed, and the frame I and cylinder C areraised again by springs 20, when the toggles l!) are broken by therocking of the shaft. The impression-cylinder C has the usual grippersa, to which sheets are fed over the feeding-board K.

IOO

IIO

All the parts above described may be of any common or suitableconstruction, so arranged as to secure the desired variable-speedmovement of the bed, with the bed moving some distance before and afterthe printing operation and the cylinder thrown into and out of mesh withthe bed as nearly as practicable at the commencement and end of theprinting operation and While the bed is moving at a comparatively highrate of speed.

When the cylinder is raised so that its surface is out of contact Withthe form on the type-bed after the printing operation and during'thetime that it is not driven by the bed, the cylinder is driven by aseparate driving mechanism which is inoperative to actuate the cylinderduring the time that the cylinder is driven by the bed, the cylinderbeing driven, preferably, at a uniform rate of speed corresponding tothespeed of the bed at the time When the bed commences and ceases to drivethe cylinder. For this purpose any suitable mechanism may be used andarranged in any desired manner so as to secure the operation of themechanism upon the cylinder at the desired time and its inoperativenessat other times. In this form of the invention the. separate driving,mechanism consists of gears 23 24, mounted on a suitably-located shaftWhich has its bearings in the frame of the machine, the gear 24 beingconstantly in mesh with the gear 14 on the crank-shaft G. These gearsare so proportioned that when they are connected to the cylinder by thedevices hereinafterdescribed or by other suitable means they Will causethe lcylinder after it has ceased to be driven by the bed to be drivenat a constant speed which will approximate the lowest speed which thebed had When the cylinder Was transferred. The devices employed in thisembodiment of the invention to connect the driving mechanism referred towith the cylinder consist of an internal gear 21, carried on thecylinder, and a pinion 22, this pinion 22, as hereinafter shown, being abroad-faced pinion and so located that one of its ends is in mesh withthe gear 23 of the constantspeed driving mechanism before referred to.Its other end when the constant-speed mechanism is to drive the cylinderWill be in mesh with the internal gear 2l, carried by the cylinder.These intermediate devices for connecting the constant-speed drivingmechanism to the cylinder are rendered operative by the raising andlowering devices which have been heretofore described. When thecontinuously-rotating cylinder is raised by the raising and loweringdevices, the gear 21 is brought into mesh With the pinion 22, and it isobvious that the rotation of the cylinder Will then be continued by theconstant-speed -mechanism and at the speed which the cylinder had whenit was released from the bed. The operation of Vthe construction will bereadily understood from the drawings and a brief description, referringespecially to Figs.

3 to 6. As shown in Fig. 3, which corresponds in position of parts toFig. 1, the bed is at the end of its movement to the right and is justabout to be reversed and move to the left for the printing movement, andthe cylinder C is in position for its grippers 0L to take a sheet fromthe feed-board K. As the operation proceeds from this position the crankF moves from its horizontal toward its vertical position, actuating thebed through the railroad-gear movement shown, and on account of themovement of the crank the speed of the bed is accelerated rapidly duringthe first part of the crankmovement,du rin g which time the bed movesout of contact with the cylinder, which is raised above the bed by thesprings 20, and the cylinder is driven from the constant-speed mechanismwhich is connected by the intermediate connecting devices beforedescribed-namely, the gear 2l and the pinion 22, which are then in mesh.When the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 4, at which time thespeed of the bed under the driving action of the crank mechanism issubstantially equal to or approximates the-speed of the cylinder, whichis being operated, of course, by the'constant-speed mechanism, 'the camH actuates the shaft 50 through the lever 17 and link 18, so as tostraighten the toggles 19, and thus force the cylinder frame I andcylinder downward. This operation brings the cylinder-gear16 into .meshWith the bed-rack 15, so that the cylinder is therefore driven by thebed and at the same time releases the cylinder from the constantspeedmechanism by causing the intermediate connectionsnamely the internalgear 21 and pinion 22--to pass out of mesh. From this point th'e bedcontinues its movement through the printing operation, driving thecylinder in exact synchronism With the bed, With the cylinder heldpositively by the bed against movement in either direction independentof the bed by the meshing of the gear 16 and rack 15, and during thisprinting operation or period of impression the crank moves to itsvertical position and somewhat beyond the latter, during which movementthe speed of the bed and cylinder as driven by the` crank varies butslightly. The position of the parts at the end of this part of themovement is shown in Fig. 5. At this point the cam H releases the lever17 and the toggle-joints 19 are broken again by the springs 20, forcingthe cylinder-frame I and cylinder C upward, so as to move the cylinderout of printing contact with the bed, gear 16 on the cylinder at thesame time being moved out of mesh with the rack 15 on the bed and theinternal gear 21 being again brought into mesh with the pinion 22, afterwhich the movement of the bed to the left is completed and the bedstopped as the crank reaches the horizontal position on the oppositeside of the center from that at which we started at the commencement ofthis description, the speed of the bed decreasing rapidly 'during thispart Ioo IIO

of the movement of the crank and the cylinder being driven by the pinion22 at a constant rate of speed equal to the speed of the bed at the timewhen it ceased to drive the cylinder. The operation above described isnow repeated during the return of the bed, except that the cam II isformed to hold the bed out of contact with the cylinder during theentire return movement of the bed, during which the cylinder C is drivenby the pin-4 ion 22, and the gear 1G and rack 15 are out of mesh.

It will be understood that my invention is not to be limited to thespecific class of press shown, nor to the exact form or arrangement ofthe driving mechanism or any of the devices illustrated as embodying myinvention, but that the invention is applicable in many classes ofprinting-presses and that mechanism of various forms may be used forcarrying it out.

What I claim isl. In a bed-and-cylinder printing-machine, thecombination with a reciprocating bed, of means for driving it at varyingspeeds, a cylinder continuously rotating in the same direction, meansfor driving the cylinder in synchronisrn with the bed during a part ofone stroke, a constant-speed mechanism for driving the cylinder when itis not driven in synchronism with the bed, a raising and loweringmechanism and intermediate devices between the constant-speed mechanismand the cylinder acting to connect the cylinder to and disconnect itfrom the constant-speed mechanism at substantially the times when thetwo speeds coincide, said intermediate devices being rendered effectiveby the raising and lowering mechanism.

2. In a bed-and-cylinder printing-m achine, the combination with thereciprocating bed, of means for driving it at varying speeds, means fordriving the cylinder in synchronism with the bed during the printingperiod, means for driving the cylinder during the non-printing period ata constant speed which is approximately equal to the prin ting speed,raising and lowering mechanism, and devices between the cylinder theseparate driving mechanism made eective by the raising and loweringdevices, whereby the cylinder may be connected to and disconnected fromthe constant--speed mechanism, substantially as described.

3. In a bed-and-cylinder machine, the combination with a reciprocatingbed driven at varying speeds, of a cylinder continuously rotating in thesame direction, means whereby the cylinder is driven by the bed during apart of one stroke, a constant-speed mechanism for driving the cylinderwhen it is not driven by the bed, a raising and lowering mechanism anddevices intermediate the constant-speed mechanism and the cylinder forconnecting the cylinder to and disconnecting it from the constant-speedmechanism,- said devices acting at substantially the times when thespeeds of the bed and the constant-speed mechanism. coincide, and beingrendered effective by the raising and lowering devices.

4. The combination with a reciprocating bed driven at a varying speed,of a cylinder continuously rotating in the same direction, said cylinderbeing driven by the bed during the printing operation and held by thebed against movement in either direction independently of the bed duringsaid operation, mechanism for rotating the cylinder at a constant speed,raising and lowering devices, and devices intermediate the bed and thecylinder made effective by the raising and lowering devices to connectthe cylinder to and disconnect it from the constant-speed mechanism,substantially as described.

5. The combination with a reciprocating bed driven at varying speeds, ofa continuously-rotating cylinder, means whereby it is driven from thebed during the printing period, means for driving the cylinder ataconstant speed when it is not driven by the bed, means for raising andlowering the cylinder, and means broughtinto operation bythe raising andlowering mechanism for connecting the cylinder to the constant-speedmechanism.

G. The combination with a reciprocating bed driven at a varying speed,of a cylinder continuously rotating in the same direction, said cylinderbeing driven by the bed substantially during the printing operation anddisconnected therefrom during the rest of its movement, mechanism forrotating the cylinder when disconnected fromthe bed at a constant speedwhich is approximately that which the cylinder had under the influenceof the bed at the beginning and end of the printing operation, raisingand lowering devices, and devices intermediate the cylinder and theconstant-speed mechanism made effective by the raising and loweringdevices, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a reciprocating bed, of a crank-movement fordriving the bed at a varying speed, a continuously-rotating cylinderdriven from the bed during the printing operation and disconnectedtherefrom during the rest of its movement, said bed and cylinder beingarranged with the printing operation occurring during that part of themovement of the bed in which the speed variesbutslightly,aconstant-speed mechanism for rotating the cylinder whendisconnected from the bed, raising and lowering devices,

and devices intermediate the cylinder andA the constant-speed mechanismfor connecting the cylinder to said mechanism made eective by theraising and lowering devices, substantially as described.

S. The combination with a reciprocating bed driven at a varying speedand carrying a rack, of a cylinder continuously rotating in the samedirection and carrying a gear engaging said rack during a part of themovement of the bed, mechanism for rotating the cylinder independentlyof the bed and at a IOO IIO

constant speed when the gear is out of engagementwith the rack, raisingand lowering devices, and devices intermediate the cylinder and theconstant-speed mechanism for connecting the cylinder to anddisconnecting it from the constant-speed mechanism made effective by theraising and lowering devices, substantially as described.

9. The combination With a reciprocating bed driven at a varying speedand carrying a rack, a cylinder continuously rotating in the samedirection, and carrying a gear that engages with the rack when thecylinder is in printing position, mechanism for rotating the cylinder ata constant speed when the gear and rack are disengaged, devicesintermediate the cylinder and the constant-speed mechanism consisting ofan internal gear on the cylinder and a pinion which meshes therewith andwith the constant-speed mechanism, and raising and lowering devices,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

LUTHER C. OROWELL.

Witnesses:l

NATHANIEL ATWooD,

G. R. STEDMAN.

